" Art Unwin KB9MZ" wrote in message news:4tBOb.94287$xy6.169075@attbi_s02...
Many hams have just gone thru an ice storm where many have lost the end
portions of their elements due to the
weight of ice. Strange thing is that many of those hams who suffered damage
are confinced that they see NO difference in their shortened antennas and a
few were adamant that the performance had IMPROVED

What type antenna? How did they test? Dunno...I think they were
imagining things..

One local guru who had many books on radio thought that maybe the real world
was different to what he read in books!
He then took out his ARRL book and right there is said that gain of two
dipoles side by side increases gain in proportion to the spacing between the
ends of the dipole.
Since this revelation was in a book it was obvious that what other hams were
experiencing with their damaged antennas must be true.

Good grief....:/

So the guru purchased
two dipole
and put them side by side and then remove the ends just as the ice storm
would and thus increased the gap between the two dipoles, which the A.R.R.L
BOOK said would produce more gain.

Uh....I guess it hasn't sunk in that he no longer has 1/2 wave dipoles
anymore.

The guru is now befuddled

I don't doubt it...

He listened to experiences in the REAL WORLD and merged it with what must
be right because it was in a BOOK but did not get all this extra gravy he
was looking for !.
What is going on between the real world and what is written in books.?

He is taking what he is reading in books, listening to hokey, most
likely untested claims from the real world, and misapplying the info
to the antennas he is testing. The book info is correct. I guess it
hasn't occurred to him to try two full half wave dipoles like the book
intends. MK